


Mindful

by heatgeneratingtechniques



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Angst, Existential Crisis, M/M, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-18
Updated: 2016-09-18
Packaged: 2018-08-15 18:17:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8067775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heatgeneratingtechniques/pseuds/heatgeneratingtechniques
Summary: When Rhett falls apart emotionally, he pushes his relationship with Link to the breaking point.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> re-post from [Tumblr](http://heatgeneratingtechniques.tumblr.com/post/144060599189/mindful-chapter-1)

Whenever they had an all or multiple day video shoot, it had been Link’s idea that they spent the nights of the shoot together. He always had weird dreams before shoot days, his mind working overtime to categorize every little thing that had the possibility of going wrong. When he was with Rhett, when his best friend held him and whispered to him, he was able to quiet his worries for a while.

Rhett loved this idea, as it gave him a chance to spend more time with Link outside of work. So they made a habit of sharing a pricey hotel suite, just so they could have a bit of alone time together. At first, both of them were happy with this arrangement. But after a while, it wasn’t enough for Rhett.

~

It started with the insomnia.

They were together on Rhett’s bed in the hotel suite in the dark, Link on top as he kissed all over Rhett’s face. He was insistent and needy and hot all over. Tomorrow was the first day of a three-day shoot for a new music video and Link was full of nervous energy.

But Rhett was _tired_. He hadn’t been able to sleep at home for the past several nights and he had hoped - foolishly, he knew - that Link wouldn’t be in the mood to climb all over him.

“Not tonight,” he whispered, when Link dipped his head to lick his neck.

“Huh?” The smaller man looked up, his eyes hazy with lust. He blinked, frowning, as he realized that Rhett was serious. “You all right?”

Rhett shrugged. “I’m really tired. Not in the mood.”

“Really, man?” A look of annoyance passed over Link’s face, but with a sigh, he rolled off his perch. He gestured towards his arousal, straining against his briefs. “Would you mind… maybe taking care of this, though?”

“Why do I always gotta do it for you?” Rhett snapped. “I said I’m tired. You have hands, don’t you?” He rolled over without another word.

After a moment, he felt the bed shift as Link scooted in closer, draping an arm over Rhett’s torso.

“Well, you don’t gotta be so mean about it, man,” he murmured into the back of Rhett’s neck. He was trying to make a joke of it, but Rhett knew he was hurt.

~

In the morning, Link took one look at Rhett’s red-rimmed eyes and announced that he would be driving them to the beach, where they were filming that day. Link glanced at him as he drove. Rhett’s eyes were shut, his lips pressed together in a hard line. He barely spoke for the whole trip.

Link wanted to ask him what was wrong, but he decided against it. When Rhett was thinking, when he was working through inner turmoil, prodding him to talk often made him clam up further. So he put on some music and felt better when he saw Rhett’s fingers tapping along with the beat.

The video they were shooting was based on the quote “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” They were filming the same routine in three different locations, one on each day. When they got to the beach, Stevie and Drew had already finished directing the crew on their equipment setup and were going over the day’s plans.

“I’m so tired,” Rhett mumbled as he and Link climbed from the car.

“Didn’t you have coffee this morning?” Link asked.

“Yeah, but I didn’t sleep last night.”

“Not at all?”

Rhett sighed. “Not at all.” He forced a smile, squeezed Link’s hand to assuage the concern in his friend’s eyes. “But I’ll be okay.”

The day of filming dragged on. Rhett kept forgetting which lines he was supposed to be lip syncing, despite the lyric sheets held right beside the camera. It took six takes before Link was satisfied with the first shot, because Rhett’s eyes kept wandering away from the camera.

“Do we need to reschedule this for another day?” Link asked as they broke for lunch. “You’re not acting like yourself.”

Rhett took another gulp of his fourth coffee of the day and shook his head. “I’m fine.”

Link opened his mouth to say something, but Drew interrupted, apologizing, to go over a few things for the afternoon schedule.

In their suite that night, Link didn’t join Rhett in bed. Letting his best friend sleep was the easiest way he could show that he cared. At one point, he poked his head into Rhett’s room, hoping that he was having a better night. He was relieved to find Rhett sprawled across the bed, snoring softly.

In the morning, Rhett was out of bed and dressed before Link had woken up. He padded into the kitchen area to find that Rhett was singing to himself and had made waffles for them both.

“Better today?” Link asked as he grabbed a plate.

Rhett nodded, the apples of his cheeks showing as he grinned sheepishly. “I slept a lot better.”

Over breakfast, they made small talk. Rhett snagged several pieces of Link’s waffle, leaning over the table to kiss him when Link protested.

Today, Rhett drove. They were filming underwater today at a local pool that had been reserved for them. On this day, everything proceeded ahead of schedule, as both of them nailed their parts in the first or second take.

At the end of the session, after the equipment had been safely packed away, everyone jumped into the pool and splashed around for a bit.

Link shrieked when he felt a hand yank his ankle, pulling him beneath surface. When he came up gasping for air, Rhett was there, laughing harder than Link had seen him laugh in days. Link wanted to be annoyed, he really did, but he was just happy to see Rhett’s smile again. He found himself grinning in response. With water trailing off his face and beard in rivulets, plastering his hair to his head and making his eyelashes shine, Rhett looked more beautiful to him than ever.

For a moment, he wanted to take Rhett’s bearded face in his hands and taste him right there, right where everyone could see. He wanted to sweep that hair off his forehead and kiss him until they both couldn’t breathe.

But then Rhett splashed water on him as Chase pushed a shrieking Alex into the pool, and the spell was broken.

That night, Rhett welcomed Link’s touch with open arms. Link savored each moment for as long as he could. He loved taking Rhett into his mouth, hearing him whimper as his fingers tangled in Link’s hair. He loved the way Rhett looked down at him with heavy-lidded eyes, his body flushed with lust. He loved how, after Rhett thrashed beneath him in the throes of his orgasm, he didn’t mind when Link wanted to cuddle. They held each other, Link’s head tucked beneath Rhett’s chin, and drifted off to sleep.

In the morning, Link awoke to find Rhett lying stiffly beside him, hands clasped over his chest. He nudged him with a weary hand.

“Sleep well?”

Rhett shook his head no. “My back really hurts.”

“Oh man, did I push you too far last night?” Link’s forehead creased in concern. “Should we cancel the shoot today?”

Again, Rhett shook his head. “I’ll just take some ibuprofen and go to the doctor once we’re done.”

In the car, Rhett was silent again. He inhaled sharply when Link braked hard to avoid hitting a pedestrian.

“Take it easy, man!”

“I know, I know. Sorry.” Link hunched over the wheel.

“This ride would go a whole lot smoother if you didn’t drive like someone running from the cops.”

Link didn’t reply, didn’t take the bait. He didn’t want to argue when there was such a long day of filming ahead.

This last day of filming was in an empty warehouse. Rhett was surly with everyone, even him and Stevie. The crease between his eyebrows only deepened with each take. At one point, he got so frustrated that he couldn’t remember his lines that he actually sat down in the middle of a take and put his head in his hands.

“Hey…” Link caught Ben’s eye and gestured for him to stop filming. He dropped down beside Rhett, thankful that the crew was politely turning their attention elsewhere. “Do you want to take a break, man?”

“No.” Rhett’s head snapped up. “I want to be done for today.”

“But Rhett-”

“We should’ve rescheduled this,” Rhett said quietly. “I can’t concentrate.” He got to his feet, wincing. “Tell them we’re done, Link. I need some fresh air.” He walked off the set, out of the warehouse and into heat of the day.

Stunned silence. The crew may as well have been statues with gaping mouths, Link thought. Stevie was the first to recover. Her voice cut through the silence, issuing orders that were somehow both brief and gentle. She got everyone to start packing up, got Link into a chair, and brought him a coffee.

He looked at the cup in her hand and shook his head no.

“Take it, Link,” she said gently.

He groaned, but accepted the cup. “Thanks.” His hands were trembling so much that it was a moment before he could take a sip. He took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes.

“Should we call it quits for today?” she asked.

The thought of the time and money wasted if they didn’t finish the shoot today almost made Link shudder, but the thought of trying to convince a stubborn Rhett seemed even more difficult. “Yeah. We’ll have to finish this another time. Or heck, just make do with the footage we already have. Morgan can handle it.” After downing the coffee, he left the warehouse to find Rhett.

He didn’t have to search far; Rhett was stretched out on his stomach in the brown grass behind the warehouse, his head on his arms, his eyes closed. Link sat cross-legged beside him and contemplated the sight of his best friend. It wasn’t often that he had the chance to do this, even when they shared a bed. Link would usually wake up to find Rhett already up and watching him with the most loving expression on his face. It always made Link flustered and pleased to see that look. Even thinking about it now made him feel warm inside.

The hair on top of Rhett’s head was slightly darker than the rest, Link noticed. He reached out and ran his fingers through the soft strands.

“Hey.”

“I don’t want you to touch me,” Rhett muttered, and Link snatched back his hand. The warm feeling vanished.

“I’m sorry.” He hesitated, then decided to plow ahead and ask the question he’d told himself he wouldn’t ask. “What’s wrong?”

Rhett let out a long breath, rolled over to stare up at the sky. “I’m getting old, Link.”

“That’s what’s been bothering you?” Link looked down at him, quick enough to catch a brief glimpse of despair before Rhett smoothed his features into a more neutral expression. “Aww, thirty-nine’s not _that_ old, man.”

“Don’t patronize me,” Rhett snapped. “I’m almost forty, Link. _Forty._ We’ve been making internet videos for over ten years. That’s nearly a quarter of our lives. What the heck have we accomplished besides that?”

“We’ve done a lot, Rhett.”

Rhett snorted. “No. We haven’t. Think about it, man. We’ve made fools of ourselves for strangers on the internet.” He laughed bitterly. “Put that on a t-shirt, huh?” When Link said nothing, he continued. “We’ve devoted so much time to making videos and songs and commercials, none of which really matter when you really think about it.”

“Well…” Link gestured towards the warehouse behind them. “We’ve gotten to work with some really creative and talented people.”

“That’s not an accomplishment.” Rhett sounded almost sulky.

Link sighed, rolled his eyes. “Okay, man.” He didn’t know what else to say to lighten Rhett’s mood. After a moment, he lay down beside Rhett, trying to keep the disappointment from his face when his friend turned away.

He watched the clouds drift past until his vision blurred and he had to take off his glasses to wipe a hand across his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

There was nothing sweet about sex that night. Rhett didn’t bother to ask or even begin gently. He came into Link’s room and climbed onto the bed.

“Oh, now you want me to touch you, huh,” Link murmured as he felt the bedsheets being pulled away from him and Rhett’s hands on his stomach. He was already half-asleep.

Rhett unceremoniously rolled the smaller man onto his stomach, pinning him down with his heavier weight.

“Rhett?” Link was wide awake now. “What the heck are you doing?!” He yelped as Rhett drove a knee into his back, pressing him into the mattress. “You’re hurting me, man!”

Rhett’s body may as well have been a boulder on top of him. He stretched Link out, pinning his wrists above his head with a sweaty hand as he yanked down his briefs with the other. Link had a flashback to being told, “I’m dead,” over and over while he fought uselessly to free himself. The memory made him angry enough to fight back. But when he squirmed, trying to roll over and free his arms, Rhett placed a hand on the back of his neck and squeezed ever-so-slightly.

“Hold still.”

“Rhett-” He broke off when the hand on his neck squeezed harder.

“I said. Hold. Still.”

It was all wrong. Rhett was moving too fast. Link buried his face in the pillow to stifle his cries as Rhett took him from behind, moving in short, sharp thrusts that made Link feel that he was being torn from the inside out.

“Rhett,” Link gasped, tears burning at the corners of his eyes. “Don’t go so fast, that hurts… _it hurts…”_

No response but the rhythmic slapping of skin on skin and Rhett’s harsh breathing. Link shut his eyes. He tried to think of something comforting, but his mind kept returning to the man who panted and rutted above him like an animal in heat. Rhett’s hands gripped him more tightly as his pace increased, his breath rising to match.

A few more deep, painful thrusts, and Link felt Rhett’s cock twitch inside him as he came. He barely paused to catch his breath before pulling out without a word. His footsteps retreated back to his own room, the door between them shutting with a click.

_No._

Link lay in bed shaking, his briefs still twisted around his ankles. Hugging a pillow to his chest did nothing to alleviate the burning in his rear or the hollow, sick feeling in his gut.

Not again.

I thought we had moved past this.

He wanted to call Christy, but it was already past midnight and he didn’t want to wake her knowing that she was probably worn out from a long day with the kids. He buried his face in the pillow and let the tears come.

~

At the very beginning of their relationship, after they had first kissed backstage at an awards ceremony, their sex had been harsh and unloving, full of both need and a revulsion that the need existed at all. They didn’t talk about their feelings at all, just reached for each other when they were alone. In the office, in the house, at the gym, one frantic time in the car. Rhett looked back on this time with disgust; neither of them had been able to reconcile their friendship with their lust and it had made them angry enough to take their emotions out on each other. It had been a time of bruises, silent anger, and intense pain.

After one of these times, when Link had fucked him harder than he’d thought possible, he was up immediately afterwards and grabbing for his clothes, stumbling on rubbery legs. He’d wanted nothing more than to get as far away from Link as possible, wanted to lie to himself that he wouldn’t crave his friend’s body tomorrow as much as he had today.

But he caught the faint sound of Link’s ragged breaths. His face was hidden in the tangle of pillows and bedsheets, but Rhett knew the sound.

He was crying.

At that moment, Rhett was ashamed of himself. He dropped his clothes, threw himself back down on the bed, and wrapped an arm around Link’s shoulders. As the smaller man’s chest heaved with sobs, he felt as if his own heart was breaking.

“Please don’t cry.”

After that, they finally talked through their emotions. They came clean to their wives. There were many arguments, many long talks that left all four of them hurt and exhausted. But they worked through it, as they had worked through other difficulties in the past, and they were finally able to be together with clear consciences. They learned to be gentle with each other, each slowly figuring out the other’s body as he taught his friend about his own.

There had been nothing gentle about tonight, Rhett knew, but he had felt so twisted and angry inside that the only thing that made sense was that he had _needed Link._

He knew he had hurt his best friend. But he didn’t have the strength to comfort him right now.

He just wanted to sleep.

~

They didn’t speak in the morning, aside from Link hesitantly asking Rhett what time he wanted to leave. Rhett answered with a grunt and a shrug, which Link took to mean he didn’t care. He withdrew to pack, wincing at the pain that still lingered from last night. All he wanted now was to get home and hold Christy and tell her how much he’d missed her.

As he zipped his suitcase closed, he noticed bruises on his wrists from the previous night.

_Great._

In the car on the way home, Rhett’s presence had Link so tightly wound that he jumped when the taller man began drumming his fingers on his knee.

“What?” Rhett demanded.

Link shook his head quickly. “Nothing.” He hit the gas pedal.

“There’s someone crossing the street, watch it!” Rhett snapped as they flew through an intersection.

“I know!” Link shot back, louder than he’d intended.

They were both silent for a while. Link focused on driving, taking deep breaths to steady his nerves. They were almost at Rhett’s house.

“What’s your problem?” Rhett asked finally.

 _“My_ problem?” Link’s eyes widened. He glanced over at Rhett, who was glaring at him from beneath lowered eyebrows. “I’m not the one one who freaked out on the entire crew. I’m not the one who’s been acting weird this week. I’m not the one who - who hurt me last night.”

Rhett mumbled something and shook his head.

“What’s wrong with you, Rhett?” Link was feeling irritated enough now that he pressed on, not caring how angry Rhett was anymore. “Why are you acting like this? Did I do something to bother you?” When his friend didn’t answer, he added quietly, “You really hurt me, man.”

“What, I can’t do things my way once in a while?”

“Doing things your way isn’t supposed to hurt either of us,” Link said stubbornly as he turned onto Rhett’s street. “I don’t know if this is because of your back or the fact that you’re cranky because you can’t sleep or what, but I-I hate it when you take things out on me like that. You’ve done it before. Heck, you always do it when you’re mad. It makes me feel like shit.”

Rhett snorted. “How do you think I feel?”

Link pulled up in front of Rhett’s house, slamming hard on the brakes. “Get out.”

“Listen to me, Link-”

“I don’t want to talk to you, man. Get out.” He stared straight ahead, waiting.

Finally, Rhett opened the door and climbed out of the car as carefully as he could. He winced, one hand pressed against his back. If this had been a normal day, Link would have sprung out to help him drag his suitcase to the house and probably would have spent some time talking to Jessie and the kids if they were home. If this had been a normal day, Link would have kissed him goodbye. Today, however, the moment Rhett slammed the trunk and began his slow, painful walk up the driveway, Link sped off.

~

He shouldn’t have gotten angry with Rhett.

After he got home and spent some time with Christy and the kids, Link felt a little better. He took Jade for a walk. Sitting at home made him feel restless, but once he was on the sidewalk, plodding along behind Jade, he was able to think more clearly.

_Rhett’s upset._

_He needs your support, not your complaints._

_But he hurt me…_

Jade saw a passing butterfly and charged after it with a bark.

“Jade!” Link tugged on the leash. “Knock it off.”

He was feeling guilty about snapping at Rhett now. When Jade stopped to sniff around a tree, he took out his phone and texted, _I’m sorry._

When he checked back an hour later, after getting home from his walk, there was no response. Link told himself that tomorrow would be better, that he would try harder to help Rhett get through whatever he was experiencing.

But the next day at work, Rhett barely spoke to him at all. He was a silent presence around the office, so grim that the crew gave him a wide berth. Link watched him work at his desk, his eyebrows knit together as he typed out a report. He glanced up suddenly and met Link’s gaze. He looked so angry, so unlike his usual laid-back self, that Link almost felt afraid.

“What?” Rhett demanded.

Link dropped his gaze to his laptop, apologizing hastily. He hated how frantic he sounded, but there had been something sharp and almost predatory in Rhett’s gaze that he didn’t like.


	3. Chapter 3

Link was typing an email at his desk when he became aware of Rhett’s presence just behind him. He felt his heart rate increase, but he forced himself to finish typing, even when he sensed Rhett shuffling his feet in impatience. Link finally hit “send,” got up, and led the way up to the loft.

He didn’t want to do this.

As soon as he stepped into the loft, Rhett tackled him to the floor. His mouth went to Link’s neck, where he bit down hard enough to draw a gasp of pain. His hands moved to Link’s waist where he deftly unbuckled his belt and tugged his pants out of the way. He stroked Link roughly, ignoring Link’s pleas for him to slow down, to take some time to enjoy the moment. His motions were frantic, desperate, driving Link over the edge more quickly than he would have liked. Link scraped his fingers through the carpet, gritting his teeth to keep from crying out as he came.

Then came the worst part. Rhett turned him over onto his stomach, gripping Link’s ass hard enough to bruise. He worked almost mechanically, forcing one finger into Link, then another and another. Link pressed his head into his forearms, trying to steady his breathing as Rhett silently prepared him.

It had been like this for weeks. Rhett wouldn’t let Link touch him but every now and then, his need drove him to initiate a few moments of heat at work. They never kissed or cuddled anymore. It was as if they had reverted back to the beginning of their relationship, when they had almost let their lust for each other destroy their friendship.

Link wondered if he shouldn’t at least be grateful that Rhett usually got him off first. He wondered if he shouldn’t at least be grateful that Rhett always prepared him instead of forcing his cock into him like he had that night at the hotel. But he craved the feeling of Rhett’s arms around him, of his beard against his lips, of their fingers intertwined. He needed to hear sweet words again. He wanted to revel in the afterglow of their sex, instead of feeling like he’d just been used.

These days, they argued frequently. Or rather, Link muttered increasingly sharp remarks while Rhett said little in response. The only time they touched now was when they fucked.

Afterwards, Rhett always fixed his clothes and went back to his desk as if nothing had happened, only the slight flush to his face remaining as proof of the passion he’d just experienced. Link always had to leave the office for a while, spend some time with the crew or alone with some coffee until he was ready to face Rhett again.

~

At home, it wasn’t long before Christy noticed his bruises. “Link…” she murmured one evening after dinner as he loaded the dishwasher while she put away the leftovers, “what happened to your arm?”

He looked down at the marks on his forearms and winced; he had rolled up his shirtsleeves without thinking.

“Rhett,” he said shortly.

She crossed the kitchen and placed cool fingers against his neck, where he knew Rhett had bitten him earlier that day. “I’m guessing he did this, too?” Her expression spoke volumes of her disapproval.

“It’s not that bad,” he insisted. “That’s just… that’s just how he likes it these days.”

“Do _you_ like it, though?” she asked. He had no answer, just turned away from her and fiddled with the dishwasher.

That Saturday was particularly sunny, so he took Lincoln, Lando, and Jade to the park to mess around with the soccer ball. Lily hadn’t wanted to come along; she and Christy had started a new project and were putting all their extra time into it.

Link surprised himself by remembering how to dribble; it had been years since he’d played soccer. Lando kept giggling at him.

“You look funny, Dad!” he yelled.

“Do I?” Link kicked the ball into the air, meaning to headbutt it towards Lincoln. He misjudged it, the ball smacking him in the face hard enough to knock him off his feet and make him lose his glasses. When he sat up, both of his sons were laughing.

Link felt a sheepish grin spread across his face. “That funny, huh?” Lincoln reenacted his fall with overdramatic gestures and soon Link was laughing so hard that his stomach ached.

It felt good to laugh. He hadn’t laughed much, not since -

_Oh._

The smile died on his lips. He lay back in the grass with a sigh.

There was not a cloud in the sky today.

Lando’s face poked into his field of vision. “I found your glasses, Dad.” He dropped them onto his chest.

“Thanks, son.”

“What happened to your wrist?”

Link groaned. Of course Lando, the quietest and most observant of his children, would be the first to notice.

“Hurt it at work,” he said curtly. It wasn’t exactly a lie.

“You should be more careful,” Lando admonished him. “Watch where you’re going so you don’t hit your arm on things.”

Link chuckled. “What makes you think I hit it on something?”

Lando shrugged. “That’s just what you do, Dad,” he said simply. “Maybe you should tell Rhett to look out for you.”

At Rhett’s name, Link flinched internally. “Yeah. Yeah, I will.” He sat up with a groan, in time to see Lincoln take off across the park with the soccer ball, Jade scampering along behind him. “Go see if you can steal the ball from your brother.”

Watching his sons play, Link was reminded of childhood in the summer, of time spent with Rhett playing games around town, of long hot days spent exploring on their bikes. He put his head in his hands.

So much of what he did to distract himself from Rhett only seemed to remind himself of his best friend.

_Are we even still friends?_ He didn’t know. They didn’t even carpool anymore. Christy insisted that he talk to Rhett, but he was afraid. Rhett was always self-assured where Link was anxious, cautious where Link plunged blindly ahead. To see Rhett behave so differently was unsettling, and he had no idea how to address the issue.

~

Filming GMM, sitting beside the man he loved who was now so distant, became more difficult than ever. Link pushed himself hard, making more jokes, acting more excited for the challenges. Every now and then he’d see a spark, a glimmer of the old Rhett, and everything would click and filming would be a breeze. But most of the time, Link came away with a headache from trying to hold everything together.

The mythical beasts noticed, of course, which only made him feel even more self-conscious. He saw comments remarking on Rhett’s mood, on his own increased overacting. Viewers started speculating on what was going on behind the scenes. Some of their guesses were a little too close for comfort. He began to dread filming GMM. The only thing that kept him from canceling filming altogether was that, at least when the cameras were rolling, Rhett was forced to talk to him.

They had a particularly good filming session one Wednesday afternoon. Rhett had improvised some great lines off the teleprompter, Link had completely botched the pronunciations of unfamiliar words, the crew had laughed harder than they had in quiet a while. For a moment, Link’s spirits lifted.

“How’s your back doing?” he asked Rhett afterwards. They were both in the kitchen, Link waiting for the coffee machine to finish filling his mug.

“Better.” Rhett stretched his arms above his head, his fingers brushing against the top of the doorway. “I got a cortisone shot last week, didn’t I tell you?”

_You haven’t told me anything lately except for when you want me to spread my legs._ Link bit his lip, forced a smile. “That’s great, man. Glad you’re feeling better.”

Rhett grinned down at him. His hand came up as if he was about to touch Link’s hair, but he hesitated and stuck his hands back into his pockets.

“You want some coffee?” Link asked, gesturing towards the Keurig.

Rhett shook his head no. His eyebrows creased slightly, a sure sign that he was thinking hard about something again.

Link decided to press his luck since Rhett seemed to be in a better mood. “What’s up, man?”

“I…” Rhett glanced around to make sure the rest of the crew was out of earshot. “We should start planning what we’re going to do after GMM. Soon.”

“What?” Link tried and failed to mask the surprise on his face. “Why, Rhett?”

Rhett shrugged. “We need to start thinking about other things. Moving on to other projects.”

“Like making more music videos and commercials?”

“No.” Rhett grimaced. “I’m talking about projects outside of Youtube.”

Link took a sip of his coffee. “Like on TV.”

“No!” Rhett’s eyes bulged in frustration. He sighed with an exasperated huff. “Do I gotta spell this out for you, man? I mean, like getting out of LA. Away from all these people.”

“Why?”

Again, Link caught a glimpse of despair on Rhett’s face. “ I want to sail around the world in a boat, Link. I want to learn how to farm. You know that whittling kit you gave me? I’ve never used it since that one time I messed with it on-camera. I’m sick of this…” He gestured at the building around them. “Meetings, work, brainstorming, filming. I’m sick of it! I want to be able to _think.”_ He glanced up, and Link felt a pang at the despondent look on his best friend’s face. “There’s too much noise here.”

He seemed so confused, so distraught that Link put down his cup and stepped forward, pulling him close. Even through the fabric of his t-shirt and jacket, he still seemed thinner than Link remembered. He wondered if Rhett would push him away, but to his surprise, Rhett embraced him in return. The comforting musky smell of him was enough to bring tears to Link’s eyes. He had missed holding Rhett like this.

“We should talk this over,” Link said quietly. “Later, you know? Where we don’t have to worry about being overheard.” He looked up in time for Rhett to press a kiss to his forehead.

“Yeah,” Rhett murmured. “We should go out together. Maybe camping.” There was a grin in his voice. “Just the two of us.”

“Yeah?” A lazy smile crossed Link’s face. “I’d really like that.”


	4. Chapter 4

Christy met Link at the door when he got home. At the sight of her and the sound of the kids yelling as they played in the backyard, Link finally let himself relax from the tension he always seemed to be carrying these days at work. He was exhausted, he realized, and he could feel a headache coming on.

“How were things today?” she asked as they embraced.

“Better,” he murmured. “I have a headache now, though.” He followed her to the kitchen, where she was setting out the ingredients for the homemade pizzas that Lando enjoyed so much. “You need help?”

“Nah, the kids are making their own food tonight. I was meaning to call and ask Jessie if she minded if Locke stayed for dinner, too.”

“Locke’s here?” Link wandered to the backyard sliding door and looked out. Locke and Lincoln were scampering around, Locke holding a camcorder that Link recognized as one that he and Rhett had used years ago. Lando was sitting off to one side with Jade in his lap, occasionally yelling his opinion on their choreography.

Watching them reminded Link of him and Rhett and the silly little things they used to record together back in North Carolina. A sense of homesickness welled up. It seemed to make his headache worse. He went to find some aspirin.

 _Things will get better,_ he told himself. _We’re going to talk this out._

Over dinner, he asked Locke and Lincoln what they had been recording.

“We’re making a music video,” Locke explained with his mouth full.

“Yeah, and I’m the hero!” Lincoln added.

Locke shot him an annoyed glance. “Well, you’re the hero of the part we recorded today. I’m the hero of the part we did yesterday.”

“I was helping Mom with some work today, but they were so _loud_ , Dad,” Lily said, shaking her head.

“Hey, you could’ve been in the video, too,” Locke said, sounding strangely hopeful. “Y-you could still be in it if you want to.”

“No, Locke!” Lincoln protested. “We don’t need any girls in it!”

So much noise. Link took off his glasses, massaged his temples.

“Lower your voices at the table,” he heard Christy tell the kids quietly but firmly. “Your father has a headache.”

“I’m all right.” He shot his wife a thankful glance and took a bite of his pizza. “So, Locke,” he continued after a moment, “did your dad give you any tips on how to keep the camera still when panning? Y’know, moving from left to right and back? You don’t want to make your viewers sick with too much shakiness.”

“Well... no, he didn’t give us any tips.” Locke looked down at his plate. 

“No?” Link raised an eyebrow.

“He got mad the last time we were recording over there,” Locke said quietly.

“He yelled at them!” Lando burst out.

“No, he yelled at Locke,” Lincoln clarified, oblivious to the glare Locke shot him in response. “It was kinda funny.”

“It probably wasn’t funny at all, Lincoln.” Link gave his son a warning glance. _Rhett’s not angry with just me anymore, is he?_ In a gentler tone, he added, “You boys can record here as much as you want. As long as Mom doesn’t mind.”

Locke’s face brightened at that. “Thanks, Link.”

~

“The National History Museum, huh?” Rhett murmured. “I haven’t been here since I took Shepherd last year.”

“There are lots of new exhibits,” Link said eagerly as they entered the elevator. “Something that a useless info buff like yourself would appreciate.”

“Useless info?” As the elevator doors closed, Rhett’s arm snaked around Link’s waist, pulling him close. He tilted his friend’s head upward and kissed him square on the nose. “Oh, I’m gonna bore you to death, just you wait.”

Link felt his heart flutter. It had been so long since Rhett had kissed him.

When the elevator doors opened, Link was hastily straightening his shirt, his face flushed and his eyes glassy. He was having trouble thinking straight.

“You, ah…”

“Huh?” Rhett raised an eyebrow.

“Fix your hair, man.”

“Mm?” Rhett slipped his phone from his pocket and examined his face on the camera. “Oh.” A few quick rakes with his fingers and his hair was back to its customary height.

“I wish you’d let it down more,” Link said as they strolled through the displays. “Your hair.”

“And have me look like a wet dog?” Rhett chuckled. “No thanks.”

“You’re a cute wet dog, though,” Link said, feeling gratified when spots of color appeared on Rhett’s cheeks. He felt as if he could finally relax today. Rhett was in very good spirits, the type of mood where he didn’t mind when Link touched his arm or stood closer to him than any other friend had a right to do. Every now and then, Rhett put his arm around Link’s shoulders and gave a comforting squeeze, something he only did in public when he was feeling very happy.

The trip had been Jessie’s idea. She had chalked Rhett’s moodiness up to being overworked and had insisted that Link take him on a day trip.

“Take him somewhere with interesting displays and a lot of random facts,” she’d said to Link. “Somewhere like the Botanical Gardens. He and I went back there last week and he really cheered up afterwards.”

At one point, they ran into a couple of mythical beasts, teenagers in town visiting their grandparents. Link took charge like he always did, asking for names and where they were from, cracking jokes to make them feel at ease. He always felt more confident knowing that Rhett was beside him.

They spent the longest time in the Dinosaur Hall. Rhett was fascinated by the skeletons. He moved very slowly from one display to the next. Link trailed behind him patiently.

“They’re so freaking _old_!” he heard Rhett murmur, half to himself.

“Almost as old as you,” Link quipped, instantly regretting his words when Rhett’s face momentarily darkened.

“Imagine if we could live for millions of years,” Rhett murmured, his eyes fastened on the T-Rex skeleton looming overhead. “Think about how much we could do.” He nudged Link. “Think about it! We could each have multiple lives. The average American lifespan is almost seventy-nine years. We could live…” He was gesturing with both hands now. “We could live for long enough to literally accomplish all of our dreams.”

“Yeah.” Out of habit, Link was only half listening to Rhett’s impassioned ramblings. “I think the life we have now is good enough. Or stressful enough.”

Something shifted at his words, a new tension in Rhett’s body language that told him that he’d said the wrong thing.

“Why do you always gotta do that?” Rhett said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

“Do what?” Link raised an eyebrow.”

“Why do you always gotta make some sarcastic remark?”

 _No... please don’t get upset._ Link raised his hands. “I was just talking, man.”

“Yeah, well it would be nice if you listened instead of always thinking up something smart to say. You never listen.” Rhett sighed, shook his head, changed the subject. “These animals have been gone for ages. All we have left of them is their fossilized bones.”

“And their poop.”

“Yeah. That too.” Rhett tilted his head back to look up at the T-Rex’s gaping jaws. He whispered, “A million years from now... what will be left of me?”

Link had no idea what to say, so he compensated by saying a lot. “I think the videos we made are gonna last a long time. Even if Youtube goes under, I’m sure everything we’ve done online will be available as long as the internet is around. People are always downloading and archiving stuff. And there’s the internet archive, the Wayback Machine? That’s gonna-”

“Who cares about that?” Rhett was still fixated on the T-Rex. “I want to make something that will _mean something._ ”

“Why?” Link demanded, louder than he meant to. Several others in the room stopped their conversations to look at him. “Why?” he repeated more quietly. “Y’know, when we started all of this, I thought it didn’t have to mean anything. We were just trying to do something that we enjoyed.”

Rhett crossed his arms. “I don’t know if I enjoy this anymore.”

Silence stretched between them. They stood motionless while other museum patrons milled around them, taking pictures and chatting happily.

“Let’s go home,” Rhett said finally.

“But Rhett-”

“Let’s go, Link.”

Once when Link was in elementary school, he had broken a vase belonging to his Nana. He had been so terrified that he had grabbed Elmer’s glue from his backpack and had spent the next hour trying to put the vase back together. But most the pieces wouldn’t fit, and the ones that did wouldn’t stay glued together.

He felt like that now as he trotted to keep up with Rhett’s longer strides. No matter what he did, no matter how desperately he tried to hold things together, their relationship still seemed on the verge of flying apart.

“Well, don’t do anything reckless, man,” he said, trying to keep his tone light. “If there’s something that’s really bothering you, I’m always here to listen. And there’s always therapy, too.”

“Therapy?” Rhett snorted. “I don’t do therapy.”

“Hey now, there’s nothing wrong with it,” Link said mildly as they waited for the elevator. “Sometimes it helps to have a neutral party to talk to.” He reached out to hold Rhett’s hand. “Listen-”

“Why are you always _touching_ me?” Rhett snapped, jerking his hand away in a motion that sent a pang through Link’s chest.

“I’m... I’m s-sorry.” Link turned away, fastened his now-watering eyes on the elevator doors. Any illusion that the day could be salvaged now came crashing down in his mind.

They were silent for the rest of the way home. 


	5. Chapter 5

Link held up his hands, wiggling his fingers. “How fast can we make food -” He whisked his hands behind his back. “-without our hands?

“Let’s talk about that,” Rhett said.

They paused for a brief moment to allow for cutting between the teaser and the main episode in post.

“Good Mythical Morning.” Rhett’s voice was barely above a whisper.

“Mythical beasts, some of you have hands,” Link said. “Some of you might not. Today we’re gonna play a game to see which of us would be better at doing things without our hands. It’s time to play... Let’s Get Hands-On While Hands-Free!”

“All right, cut,” Drew called. The next portion of the episode was filmed in the space beside the GMM set, where they had filmed the yoga episode. Link sensed Rhett’s reluctance as they took off their shoes and socks, rolled up their jeans, and positioned themselves on the floor. Between them was a loaf of bread, sliced cheese, a couple of heads of lettuce, and some cheap bologna that Mike had bought earlier that day.

“You ready?” Link gave Rhett a nudge. “This is gonna be fun!”

“Yeah.” Rhett sounded almost despondent. Link shot him a glance and noticed his downcast eyes, the slump of his shoulders. Drew was signaling for the cameras to begin rolling so he said nothing.

“First thing we’re going to do is make a sandwich,” Link said to the camera, rubbing his hands together. “As you can see, we have all the ingredients laid out here. Whoever makes their sandwich first wins.”

Behind the cameras, Stevie called out, “Three, two, one, go!”

“Okay, first I’m gonna...” Link reached out with a foot and snagged a slice of bread between two toes. “...start with the basics. Can’t make a sandwich without the - Rhett?”

Rhett hadn’t moved from his cross-legged position. “I don’t want to use my feet, man.”

“Well, you don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Link said, hoping that his voice was lighthearted. “Just no hands. You can use your elbows, your teeth, your butt-”

“I don’t want to do this _at all_ , man!” Rhett burst out, startling Link so badly that he flinched.

“Rhett-”

“Whose idea was this, anyway?” Rhett demanded, eyes roving over the crew members who had gone still with shock. “How old do you guys think we are, five?”

“Rhett!” Link was angry now. “Stop it!”

Rhett got to his feet, shaking his head. “I’m done here.”

As he followed a silent Rhett off the set, out of the office, out to the parking lot, Link felt as if everything was off-kilter, the world wobbling precariously on its axis. No matter what he did, events kept taking a turn for the worse.

“Why’d you get mad at them?” Link demanded. “That was completely-”

“Link.” Rhett’s teeth were clenched. “I’m an old freaking man. I shouldn’t be making crap with my feet or whatever the heck we were supposed to be doing in there.”

“You shouldn’t be yelling at the crew, either!” Link knew he was shouting now, but he was so furious that he couldn’t help it. “Listen, Rhett, you can get angry with me. Even if I don’t understand it, I can take it. But don’t be angry with the people we hired who are just doing their jobs!”

Rhett was silent, but Link could tell by the slump in his posture that he was defeated.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly.

“It’s okay.” Link sighed. “I want to help you, man. You gotta... you gotta let me in on what you’re thinking, though.” He stepped closer, reached out to touch Rhett’s hand, but the taller man shied away. Link felt his heart seize up at that. “Rhett, please...”

Rhett brushed past him, heading back inside. He returned to the set, apologized to the crew, put his shoes back on, and went home.

~

When Rhett had gone, Link called an emergency meeting.

“Guys, we can’t keep doing GMM like this,” he said. “Rhett’s going through some stuff, and until he gets through it, there’s no way we should be forcing ourselves to keep this up.” He looked at Becca. “If we stopped putting out GMM right now, how long would it be before our views _really_ dropped?”

“A few weeks,” she said.

Link sighed. “Well, we can’t record anymore GMM until things get better. Almost every comment we got on the last several episodes has been about how miserable Rhett looks.” He rapped his pen on the table. “What about our non-Youtube income?”

Stevie consulted her laptop. “That last commercial we shot for Snickers is good for a month’s revenue, at least.”

Link thought for a moment. “Are their any more behind-the-scenes videos we could release? Maybe make a scavenger hunt to see if the fans can find all the - I don’t know - maybe we could put up some unlisted videos and have a chart on the Komm and Facebook and Tumblr with questions or something.”

“We could make a contest,” Jen suggested. “Have there be a list of questions about obscure moments in the videos or something. Whoever sends us all of the correct answers first wins. And then we could pick a few other random winners just to keep people interested.”

“We can put out a few crew-only Facebook videos,” Drew added. “And GMC doesn’t need to stop, right? That’ll keep some interest up.”

Link nodded. “I like it. Let’s make this…” He thought for a moment. “Let’s give ourselves a month. How about that? Gives Rhett… gives us enough time to figure out what we want to do.”

~

There were so many weeds.

Rhett had already taken out the trash, fixed the leaky faucet in the kitchen, and washed the family car. Now he was on his hands and knees in the overgrown backyard grass, ignoring the sweat trickling down his face as he attacked the weeds.

He heard the back door slide open.

“Rhett?” Jessie’s gentle voice. “Honey, you don’t need to do all this. We have weed killer.”

He swiped savagely at a clump of crabgrass. He had neglected doing housework for weeks, but now it was all he wanted to do.

There were so many weeds.

A few footsteps, and his wife’s arm was across his shoulders. “I’m taking the boys to play laser tag.”

He grunted in response.

“Link said he’s coming over once he’s done with work.”

Rhett clenched his fists at that, but all he said was, “Have fun.”

“Okay, honey. Love you.”

“Love you, too,” he responded automatically.

She squeezed her shoulder, her footsteps retreated, and the back door slid closed.

He was alone again.

There were so. Many. Weeds.

His back was beginning to hurt again. He wiped a dirty hand across his forehead and sat back on his heels. This was too much. Why had he wanted to do yard work again? Was this really a good way to make himself feel better?

_Who cares?_

It was work, physical labor. It kept him from thinking too much.

A while later, he heard the back door open again.

“Hey, man.” At Link’s soft, tentative voice, Rhett felt all the frustration and embarrassment from earlier that day sweep over him all over again. He felt his motivation to keep working drain away, leaving nothing but sweat and exhaustion.

“Do you wanna go inside for a bit? It’s hot out here.”

It took some coaxing, but Rhett finally let Link lead him back into the house. More coaxing, and he was stumbling up the stairs to the shower, Link’s arm both firm and comforting around his waist as he helped Rhett peel off his sweat-soaked shirt. His hands lingered at the waistband of Rhett’s jeans.

“Y-you want me to join you?” He sounded almost hopeful.

Rhett shook his head no. So Link left him alone and he stepped into the shower, letting the warm water rinse the sweat and dirt from his body.

When he emerged from the shower, towel wrapped around his hips, he felt a little better. He shuffled to the bedroom and picked out underwear, a t-shirt, and jeans. Link was downstairs in the kitchen, rummaging through the fridge.

“Do you guys have anything microwavable in here?” he called at the sound of Rhett’s footsteps.

Rhett leaned against the counter, propping himself up with his elbows. “There’s some mac and cheese casserole somewhere, I think.”

“I’ll look for it later.” Link straightened from the fridge and glanced at Rhett. “Gosh. Your hair... it’s...”

Rhett reached up and ran a hand through his blond curls. He hadn’t bothered styling it after drying it. “Yeah.”

“It looks nice.”

“Thanks.” Rhett watched Link fidget around the kitchen. He knew Link was trying hard to make him feel better, which just made him feel worse. “You don’t need to stay, Link.”

“I got something to tell you.” Link still sounded hesitant, as if he was choosing his words carefully. It almost made Rhett uncomfortable knowing that Link was holding back his usually unfiltered self. “GMM is on hiatus for the rest of the month.”

“Really.” He was almost surprised at how little the news meant to him.

“Yeah. We all agreed that we have enough content to keep things afloat for awhile so we can step back and decide what we want to do.” Link came to stand beside him at the counter. “Do you want to talk about what happened today, Rhett?”

Rhett groaned at that, lowered his head to his hands. He felt Link’s hands on his shoulders, gently pressing down and outward in a motion he’d done a thousand times before to help Rhett settle down when he got so wrapped up in his thoughts that he stopped hearing what Link was saying to him. Usually, Link’s touch calmed him and brought him back to the present, but now he was disgusted by it. He reached out and pushed Link away, ignoring the muffled gasp he got in response.

“What’s wrong with you, Rhett?” Link sounded as if he was in pain.

“I don’t want you touching me. I told you that.”

At those words, Link finally snapped.

“You!” he burst out, his voice sharp enough to make Rhett flinch. “It’s always about you! Have you given a thought to _me_ in all of this, Rhett? I-I feel like I’m being freakin’ torn in half trying to help you. You know I still have my own family to worry about, right?” Rhett said nothing, so Link charged ahead. “Did you know that Lily started working with my wife’s business? Did you know that Locke and Lincoln have been shooting their own little movies in my backyard because Locke’s afraid of you yelling at him if he does it at home? I bet you don’t even care.”

Rhett had forgotten just how angry Link could get when pushed too far. It was almost frightening. He felt himself crumble beneath the weight of Link’s words, heavy as hammer blows.

“You’re being selfish,” Link hissed, his teeth bared, his face crimson with rage. “You want to tear down everything we worked our butts off to build just because you haven’t crossed some things off your bucket list yet. Big deal, Rhett! We still have time.” He paused for breath. When he spoke again, his voice was softer. “And that’s another thing. You keep talking like you want to go off by yourself, like you don’t need me and I...” His voice cracked. “I don’t know how to handle that. I’ve been doing what I can to help you, but you don’t seem to want to help yourself. You won’t see a therapist. You won’t talk to me. And you won’t even hug me or even let me touch you unless you’re... unless you’re taking my pants off.”

“Link-”

“And now you’re going to yell at me for not thinking of you and only thinking of myself.” Link laughed bitterly. “I don’t want to hear it, Rhett. I feel like we don’t even have a friendship anymore and it’s terrible.” His voice dropped. “I really miss being able to talk to you, man. I-I miss being able to kiss you.”

Rhett couldn’t think of anything to say that would make any of this better, so he said nothing.

“You won’t even say anything.” Link sighed. “Fine, then. I don’t want to speak to you anyway. And I don’t want you touching me, either.”

After a moment of silence, Link’s footsteps retreated until they were cut off by the slamming door.

~

Link held himself together for most of the drive home. His hands were shaking more than usual from the effort, but he bit the inside of his lip and forced himself to take deep breaths. Then at a red light, the memory of Rhett pushing him away - the feel of his warm hands against Link’s arm, the annoyance written plainly across his face - flashed across his mind and he couldn’t do it anymore. He had to pull over at the side of the road because the tears were blinding.

He felt as if everything had shattered into thousands of pieces.

“I hate this.” He smacked the wheel with his hand. “I hate this I hate it I fucking _hate it_!” He scrubbed a hand across his eyes.

He couldn’t deny that Rhett’s concerns had merit. But he was close to panicking now. He saw their business crumbling, Rhett moving away from him, leaving him to face the world alone. He didn’t think he could do it. Without Rhett, without the one person who knew him and his struggles inside and out, he didn’t think he’d be able to move forward.

_Alone._

At the thought, Link felt a hollowness inside, a terrifying emptiness that threatened to swallow him if he thought about it for too much.

“No,” he whispered, his voice barely a sob. “Don’t think about that now.” He pounded his fist against the steering wheel. “Come on, snap out of it, Neal!”

He wiped the tears off his face, cleaned his glasses with a corner of his t-shirt, brushed his hair up and off his forehead. The familiar motions helped push the emptiness away, but now he was hurting.

When Link had finally regained control of himself to the point where he could drive again, he headed home. Another headache was already making itself known, pounding at his temples.


	6. Chapter 6

Silence. Perfect silence.

Rhett ducked out of the tent, closing his eyes and turning his face towards the sun. This late in the day, the earth beneath his feet was still warm, but the air was already beginning to cool. He smiled faintly to himself. There was no hum of traffic, no one reminding him of the work he needed to do, nothing but him and the desert.

He took a few deep breaths of the clean air before leaving the tent to gather firewood.

The sun was nearly beneath the horizon when he’d gathered enough. His hands were clumsy with haste as he lit the dry twigs around the base of the larger log he’d found.

He wanted to be alone, but not in the dark.

Once the fire was lit, he pulled on a hoodie and sat by the crackling heat. He wasn’t in the mood to open any of the canned food, he’d brought, so he ate the sandwich he’d brought with him, sitting with his bare feet close to the fire.

As he stared into the flames, his mind began wandering. He imagined what his family was doing now - Jessie calling for Shepherd to clean up and get ready for bed and for Locke to finish the schoolwork that he’d been putting off all day, Locke asking for help with algebra, Shepherd sneaking in one last game on his tablet when he thought his mother was distracted.

He wondered what was going on in the Neal household. They usually watched something on TV together after dinner, he knew, but he wondered if Link was thinking about him...

No. Thinking about Link took too much energy. He tilted his head back and looked up at the stars spread thickly across the sky. It was easy to forget that all these pinpricks of brilliance were up there when he was in the thick of LA light pollution. As he stared, he imagined the stars breaking apart into their primary elements - hydrogen, helium, dust, ice - and vanishing in a puff.

_What if the sky was nothing but darkness at night?_

The thought of nothing but blackness surrounding him made his head reel.

What if someone in the stars - God, maybe - was looking down at him the same way he was looking up, seeing through Rhett to his guts and muscles and bones, deconstructing him beneath his skin with a gaze so powerful that - poof! - in an instant he’d disintegrate into a pile of ash.

_If I disappeared one day, what would people remember me by?_

Videos. Stupid internet videos. The majority of people who knew of his existence knew him as an internetainer, and that would be how they would remember him. Rhett shook his head and looked back at the fire. He piled on a few more twigs, enjoying the crackle as the fire flared up again.

_What if I died tonight?_

The thought made the skin on the back of his neck prickle. He got up and paced around his campsite. Nothing but darkness in all directions. If anyone was going to try sneaking up on him, he’d see them long before they reached him. He hoped.

Rhett felt sudden fear in his gut. He sat back down by the fire, shivering. Out of habit, he thought of calling Link, but he quickly dismissed the idea. How could he call Link when he had handled their relationship so sloppily? How could he when his presence hurt Link so much?

“Dammit.” He lashed out, kicking sand into the fire. Enough thinking. It was time for bed. He poured some water over the flames, biting back a gasp of panic as they flickered out.

Darkness in all directions and the stars hanging in the void above.

Rhett flailed around for a few moments before finding the tent flap. He hastily retreated inside and wrapped himself in the sleeping bag.

Silence again.

It was too quiet.

He wanted Link. He _needed_ him. With a pang, he remembered their fight, Link’s sudden departure. He sat up, scrabbling around for his phone. He opened his texts and tried several times to type one to Link.

 _Hey man, are you busy?_ No. Too casual.

 _I went camping without you. Are you still mad at me?_ Of course Link was still mad; what kind of stupid question was that?

 _I’m sorry, Link._ Absolutely not.

Annoyed, he tossed the phone away. He wanted to say way too much than could be expressed in a short text.

He didn’t sleep much that night.

~

It had been three terrible days, and Rhett hadn’t texted, called, or come into work. From Jessie, Link learned that Rhett had gone off camping alone, sending his wife a brief text every morning to let her know he was doing all right.

Mythical Entertainment was staying afloat for the time being, thanks to the contests, sponsorship deals, and behind-the-scenes content being posted. Still, Link went to work every day full of dread, wondering if _this_ would be the day when the mythical beasts would figure out what had happened to Rhett and then the rumor mills would start churning with speculations about their friendship and who knew where that would lead?

Link tried to distract himself by spending extra time with his family, taking them on day trips that they enjoyed. But at night, after Christy fell asleep, he was left with the painful reality that Rhett didn’t seem to care that they were no longer speaking to one another.

He went back to biking with Nick and another friend, Owen. A few years younger than Link but already going gray, Owen carried himself confidently but serenely in a way that seemed to calm everyone he spoke with.

“So you make internet videos, huh?” Owen asked one day. They had stopped to rest at a spot where the trail leveled off before resuming its steep descent. The day was a good one for biking - overcast with a slight breeze that cooled the sweat on Link’s face. The three of them were sitting at one of the picnic benches in the area, taking a moment to drink some water. Link was hungry, but he knew better than to eat. No need to make himself sick from the constant jolting over rocks.

“Yeah, I make videos,” he said. “With Rhett McLaughlin. My... my business partner. Have you ever met him?”

“You probably saw him at the get-together at my house a little while back,” Nick said. “He was the tall bearded one. Head and shoulders above everyone else.”

Owen thought for a moment, then shrugged. “Eh. Maybe I wasn’t there.”

“How _is_ Rhett, anyway?” Nick asked. “Been a while since I’ve seen him.”

“He’s been... camping,” Link murmured, looking down at the table.

Nick chuckled. “He went camping and you didn’t go with him?” he teased. “Wow.”

“He likes to go alone sometimes,” Link muttered. He knew Nick was only joking, but he didn’t want to talk about Rhett anymore. He grabbed his helmet. “You guys ready to go?”

He was distracted now. He took the lead, cornering sharply enough to send up sprays of dust from his rear wheel. Thinking about Rhett had pushed the day off-kilter, preoccupying his thoughts.

_Is he still out camping?_

_What if he gets hurt?_

“Slow down!” Nick yelled, but Link didn’t hear. He went careening around a corner, felt his bike wheels shift suddenly beneath him, and then he was violently flung to the ground. He yelped as a white-hot pain shot through his chest.

For a moment, he couldn’t breathe.

“You okay?” Owen’s voice.

“Ahh...” Link’s chest hurt terribly on one side. He put his hand to it, sucking in air through his teeth.

“Can you get up?” Nick started rummaging through his backpack for his first aid kit.

Carefully, Link got to his feet, biting his lip to keep from whimpering. His front wheel had snagged on a root, he saw, and he had landed on a protruding rock.

Riding his bike was out of the question. It hurt to breathe, talk, move. There was no cell service in the area, so Nick sped off to get help while Link sat on a rock by the trail with an ice pack from the first aid kit gingerly pressed to his chest. Owen stayed with him.

“You’re not too bad off,” he said encouragingly. “Trust me, I cracked my whole ribcage in a car accident once. I wasn’t able to speak without being in tears for weeks.”

Link nodded, trying to keep his breathing shallow. “Y-you think I cracked a rib.”

Owen must’ve seen the terrified expression on Link’s face, because he quickly said, “It’s not life-threatening! It just hurts like crazy, I know. Gotta find some way to distract yourself.”

Link concentrated on breathing.

“So I had a question about the internet videos thing,” Owen said after a moment. “How did you and Rhett get into that? Did you go to film school or something? My son watches this one Youtuber who does logs. Blogs. No, vlogs. That’s what they’re called, right?” Link nodded. “I watched one of ‘em and it was in the guy’s bedroom, but it still looked like it was professionally done. It was pretty cool. Is that what you guys do?”

Link laughed, then winced, cursing under his breath as pain shot through his chest again. “I-it’s a long, long story, Owen.”

Owen spread his hands as if to take in their surroundings. “We got time.”

He looked so patient, so understanding, and Link was so sick of keeping his thoughts about Rhett tangled up in his mind. In halting breaths, he told Owen the story from the beginning, how he’d been kept in from first grade recess, how he’d been amazed at the boy beside him coloring with reckless abandon, how they’d spent hours at each other’s houses or roaming the town on their bikes. He didn’t tell Owen everything, of course, skimming the topic of the blood oath. He talked about _Gutless Wonders_ , going to college, getting his first engineering job and hating it, getting married, and deciding that he and Rhett would start writing music.

“And that’s how we started. Writing stupid songs that we put on the internet. Actually, our f...” A twinge of pain made him catch his breath. “Our first videos were an assortment. Random songs and commercials and sketches we did while we were trying to figure out what the heck we were doing. It’s pretty amazing we were able to figure anything out at all, really.”

As he spoke, he felt the weight of the past few months lift from his shoulders. It had been a long time since he had thought back through all that he and Rhett had been through together. It felt cathartic, helping him to put his current relationship with Rhett in proper perspective. He realized that he didn’t want the past thirty years to go to waste. He didn’t want to lose Rhett forever.

By the time Nick returned with the paramedics, Link had just finished telling Owen about their move to LA. He had nearly forgotten about the pain in his chest. 


	7. Chapter 7

By the fifth day of camping, Rhett had begun talking to himself. After munching on granola for breakfast, he spent a few hours drawing in the sand behind his tent.

“This is my bucket list,” he announced to the sky. “I want to do all of these things before I die. I haven’t done any of them yet, though.”

Rhett paced around the tent, brow furrowed, twirling a stick in one hand. He hadn’t bothered to put on a shirt today, letting the sun beat down on his bare shoulders as he strode along. His hair stuck out in all directions and his beard desperately needed trimming. The thought that his shirtless, overgrown appearance might frighten someone almost made him laugh.

“Thirty-four years.” Rhett stopped to kick at a loose rock. “I’ve known Link for thirty-four years. That’s...” He did some quick math. “That’s eighty-five percent of my life.”

The realization hit him so hard that he sat down, right there in the sand.

_Eighty-five percent._

For the first time in a while, he thought back over the experiences they’d had together. Memories came in snippets. Breaking panes of glass in Campbell University storage. Driving silently around town listening to Merle Haggard. The way Link’s mouth formed a tight line of concentration as he listened to Rhett sing through an early version of one of their songs. The sense of annoyance that came when Link disagreed with the way he wanted to shoot certain scenes. The way his heart soared when they sang together, voices intertwined in natural harmony.

Forget about the bucket list. If he couldn’t figure out how to reconcile with Link, how to balance his desire for the future with the demands of the present, nothing would improve. He may as well just forget about the past thirty-four years.

But that was impossible, he knew, which left him only one alternative. He got up, shaking sand from his shorts, and returned to the tent.

 _Eighty-five percent on a pie chart looks a lot like Pac-Man_. For some reason, the thought turned up the corners of his lips. Rhett got to work packing up his things, smiling to himself for the first time in weeks.

~

Two fractured ribs and lots of bruises, the doctor told him. He would need at least six weeks of extended rest. Link could still go to work if he took it easy, but there would be no physical activities until his ribs healed.

“If it hurts,” the doctor said, “don’t do it.”

_Too bad that doesn’t apply to life._

Link took some time off work after that, leaving Stevie in charge of Mythical Entertainment. At home with his family, it was difficult to remember to breathe shallowly and not to cough or laugh too hard. Once, he sneezed, which had left him in agony for almost an hour, lying on the couch with Jade by his side and staring at the TV until the pills kicked in.

A few days into his recovery, Jessie called to let the Neals know that Rhett had come home.

“Are you going to see him?” Christy asked Link.

“I don’t know.” His mind was still full of all that he had told Owen, but he didn’t feel ready to face Rhett just yet. “Maybe next week or something. If I’m feeling better. I just don’t know how I should talk to him about this. He doesn’t even want to talk to me!”

But later, Link admitted to himself that he was afraid. He was terrified that Rhett would push him away again, afraid that this time it would be more than he could bear. He tried his best to keep himself distracted, but there were moments when the _what ifs_ crowded out all rational thought and left him sobbing into his fist when he was alone.

~

One afternoon a week or so later, Link awoke from a nap to find Lando gently shaking his arm.

He yawned. “S’wrong, son?”

“Rhett said he wants to say hi.”

Link gasped, wincing at the answering pain from his ribs. He was fully awake now. “I-is he here?”

“Yeah. Downstairs.”

Link got out of bed carefully, trying to keep his upper body as still as possible. He was halfway down the stairs before he remembered that he’d left his glasses on his nightstand, but then he saw Rhett sitting on the couch and he forgot all about them.

It wasn’t just Rhett McLaughlin there, the closed-off man who had sent him tumbling through a rollercoaster of emotions over the past several weeks. It was _Rhett,_ his best friend who looked at him with nothing but love.

“You look good,” Link said without thinking, because it was true. Rhett had trimmed his beard, styled his hair upwards again. His eyes had regained their usual brightness. It was a far cry from the droopy, despondent Rhett he had tried cheering up just a little while ago.

“You look _tired,_ man,” Rhett said with a tentative smile.

“I woke him up from a nap,” Lando announced as Link reached the bottom of the stairs.

Rhett looked slightly alarmed. “Really? I didn’t mean for... oh well.”

“Lando, can you take Jade outside for a bit?” Link said, keeping his eyes on Rhett. “Just to the backyard so she can run around. Thank you!” he added as Lando left the room.

It was just the two of them now.

“You’re... hairy,” Rhett said.

“Yeah.” Link ran a hand over his now-bearded chin. He knew he looked like a mess. Besides his beard, he was wearing pajama bottoms and a torn hoodie. His hair was badly in need of a trim on the sides. “Gets kinda hard to want to shave when it hurts to breathe.”

“Does it hurt to walk?” Rhett asked as Link carefully sat in a chair across from him.

“Sometimes. If I move too quickly.”

Rhett grimaced.

“So why are you here?” Link demanded. “Last I heard, you were off camping in the desert by yourself.”

Rhett folded his hands. “I took your advice. Started seeing a therapist.”

“Really?” Link’s eyebrows shot up. “You actually took my advice? Are you sure you’re feeling all right?”

“Aww, knock it off, man. I just wanted to tell you that you were right. Being able to talk to someone neutral about... about what’s been going on has helped.”

“Well, what’s been going on in your head, man? Was this about you getting old? Because I never thought you’d be that concerned about that stuff. _I’m_ the one who used to dye my hair, remember?” Link ran his hand through his hair, where some silver strands were visible.

“I know.” Rhett looked down at his hands. “I guess I-I just started looking into the future but then forgot to stop.” He smiled to himself. “Therapist’s been helping me work on being more mindful.”

“Sounds thrilling.”

Rhett’s face brightened at that; he either didn’t hear or chose to ignore the sarcasm in Link’s voice. “Oh it is! It’s all about learning to appreciate the present instead of worrying about the future or things outside of my control.”

Link squirmed a little in his seat. “So that’s why you came over? To tell me how therapy’s been.”

“Well... no.” Rhett looked vaguely uncomfortable. “I wanted to...” He ran his tongue over his lips and tried again. “I just wanted to tell you in person how sorry I am. I-I know I’ve caused you a lot of pain these past couple of months. I’ve been upset, but there’s still no excuse for the way I treated you. Link... I’m so sorry for being an asshole to you.”

Link didn’t know what to say.

“You don’t need to say anything now,” Rhett said softly, as if reading his thoughts. He got up and headed for the front door. “I hope you feel better, Link.”

Then he was gone, leaving Link stunned, his head reeling with what he’d just heard.

~

Rhett hadn’t thought that Link was going to look that exhausted. When he’d seen Link gingerly descending the stairs, his hair overgrown and dark circles beneath his eyes, he’d wanted to spring up and take the smaller man in his arms and kiss him until he started giggling. He’d wanted to stare into his best friend’s bright eyes and swear that he would never treat him so carelessly again.

Instead, he’d held himself back, laid out the facts and apologized, foolishly hoping that Link would fly into his arms and accept him back without a second thought.

He would just have to try his hardest to show Link that he had changed.

~

Link went back to work a few days later, bringing along plenty of painkillers. Despite not wanting to face Rhett or the rest of the crew yet, he was sick of lounging painfully around the house.

Christy wanted him to stay home for a little while longer, but she had seen how miserable he had been, so she eventually agreed.

“But if you start hurting bad, come straight home,” she told him sternly.

Link got to the office very early, before anyone else. He grabbed some coffee from the kitchen and headed to the office.

He nearly dropped his mug.

Rhett was there, leaning over his standing desk and typing away. He stopped when he saw Link.

“Good morning.”

The words sounded strange in Link’s ears; they spent so much time around each other that they almost never bothered with traditional greetings anymore.

“I didn’t know you were here already,” Link said, unable to hide the accusatory tone from his voice.

“Yeah.” Rhett straightened, grinning. “Stevie knows I’m here, but I told everyone not to say anything ‘cause I wanted to surprise you.”

“You decided to surprise me by... showing up for work,” Link muttered as he crossed the room to his desk, unable to keep the sardonic edge from his voice. “Okay, then. Someone give the man a silver dollar.”

He opened his laptop to check his email, his eyebrows wrinkled in a frown.

Rhett came up behind him. “So besides GMM being put on hold, is there anything else big I’ve missed?”

Link didn’t expect Rhett to touch him, but when he did, a large hand gently smoothing the fabric of his shirt across his back, he couldn’t help shivering.

“I’m sorry,” Rhett said quickly, withdrawing.

“No...” Link sighed, decided to at least try meeting Rhett halfway. “That was - that was nice, I guess. Thanks.”

Rhett gave his shoulder a squeeze. The simple motion sent warmth coursing through Link’s body and he felt tears in his eyes. He reached up and covered Rhett’s hand with his own.


	8. Chapter 8

The next several days were a struggle, but each of them made it obvious that they were trying to be gentle with the other. They resumed carpooling and spending time together with their families outside of work. As far as Mythical Entertainment was concerned, the two of them began staying at the office very late to catch up on the work that had been neglected in their absence.

One such evening they set aside for brainstorming sketch ideas, just the two of them.

 _Like old times_ , Link thought.

The evening was comfortably warm with a slight breeze that gently wafted the curtains in the window, a nice change from the day’s blazing heat.

Link looked up from his laptop and stretched, relieved when his ribs only gave a small twinge of pain. He watched Rhett for a moment. The taller man was taking a break, stretched out on the sofa with the throw blanket around his shoulders and his guitar in his lap. His brow was furrowed in concentration. There was something so beautiful about him when he was completely absorbed in music. Something about the way his bearded jaw formed a firm line, the way he tilted his ear slightly as he retuned the guitar strings.

He began strumming through a familiar series of chords that Link recognized as being from “I Am Weary Let Me Rest.”

“Hey, Rhett?”

“Mm.”

“What are you gonna do about your bucket list?”

“I don’t know,” Rhett murmured, his fingers pausing on the strings. “Jessie and I have talked about it some. She wants me to take some time off work so I can actually do some of the things on the list... but I don’t want to leave what we have going here for too long, especially after everything that happened. Still...” He shook his head, a momentary expression of gloom passing over his face. “I really don’t know.”

“Do you... still feel trapped here in LA?” Link asked.

“Sometimes.” Rhett resumed his playing, and quiet guitar chords filled the room. He didn’t seem interested in elaborating further. Link got up and joined him on the sofa.

“I’m trying to work on being more mindful,” Rhett said after a moment. “Trying to focus on the present instead of worrying about the future. It’s hard, man. I always catch myself trying to think too far ahead.”

“I’ll never understand how you can always be looking at something in the future. We got enough to worry about right here.” Link spread his arms wide.

Rhett reached up and caught one of Link’s hands in his own. “I know.”

His hand was so warm. Rhett must’ve seen the look in his eyes because he set his guitar aside and leaned forward. He lifted Link’s glasses off his face in one smooth motion as he went in for a taste.

Link moaned softly into his mouth. It was the first time they had kissed since that awful day at the museum. The feel of Rhett’s lips against his was so delicate, so wonderful that it almost hurt.

When they broke apart, the apples of Rhett’s cheeks were showing. “Hey man,” he murmured. “Turn off the lights. Gettin’ too bright in here.” Link laughed, but obeyed without a question.

The room was plunged into darkness, the only dim light coming from the open window.

“I can’t see you, man.” There was a smile in Link’s voice. “You took my glasses off.”

“Psh. You need me to hold your hand?” Rhett’s voice was gentle, teasing.

“Nah, I’m good.” Link tiptoed across the room, miraculously not stubbing his toe on anything. When he reached Rhett, the taller man pulled him down onto his lap. Their mouths met again, more hesitantly in the dark.

"So... you said you’re being more mindful,” Link said softly, his hands combing gently through Rhett’s hair. There faces were inches apart. “How does that work?"

"You focus on the present as much as possible," Rhett whispered. "It's supposed to help if you describe what you're seeing and feeling."

Link put his forehead against Rhett’s. "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Describe what you're seeing and feeling to me."

"Okay..." Rhett sat back slightly. Link followed, resting his head on Rhett's shoulder as the taller man clasped him around the waist. "We're in our office together. It's dark, so I can't see much. I'm sitting on the couch. You're on my lap."

"Psh, I coulda told you that," Link teased. "Gimme some actual description, man."

Rhett thought for a moment. "You're not as heavy as I thought you would be," he said. "Your breath smells like Trident. Your hair smells like..." He buried his nose in Link's dark locks. "Like fruit." An answering giggle. Rhett reached up, tracing a thumb along Link's jawline. "You shaved today," he said, sounding mildly surprised.

"Yeah," Link murmured. "Didn't think you'd noticed."

Rhett chucked. "I didn't, not until now."

They were silent for a moment, except for the kisses they traded. Their breathing grew slower, heavier.

Link’s voice was barely a breath. "You didn't finish, Rhett."

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't tell me what you're feeling."

"Oh." Rhett stopped to consider this. "I'm... tired, I guess. But I'm glad I'm with you. No wait, glad isn't the right word." He shivered at the feel of Link's fingers against his sensitive scalp. "I'm content. I'm where I'm supposed to be. And I'm..." He steeled himself and forged ahead. "I'm still beyond sorry about the way I treated you. I want to make it up to you somehow." Just saying it with Link pressed up against him made him feel so vulnerable that tears came to his eyes.

Link returned his head to Rhett's shoulder. "I forgive you, man," he said quietly. "And I'm sorry, too, for leaving you when I did. I should've... tried harder, I guess."

"You did what you could," Rhett murmured. "I was just being an asshole."

He felt Link's body shake with silent laughter. "You said it, not me."

"What about you?" Rhett asked. "Tell me what you're seeing and feeling."

"Well, my glasses are off, so everything's a dark blur." Link turned his head towards Rhett's neck. "You smell like wood."

Rhett smirked. "Like _wood_ wood... or...?" He lifted his hips slightly.

At that, Link started giggling so hard that he began wheezing. "Awww, man, don't make me laugh. My ribs s-still hurt!"

"Sorry."

When Link caught his breath, he tried again. "You smell like _wood_ wood. Like you've been whittling."

Rhett nodded. "I have."

"You sound like a jerk, but I already knew that." There was a smirk in Link's voice. "You taste like..." Link's tongue brushed against his neck, quickly followed by his lips, and Rhett couldn't help but gasp. "Like salt, I guess." He slipped a hand beneath Rhett's shirt. "You feel like you've been getting waxed again."

Rhett laughed. "Yep."

"That was all five senses, right?" Link asked. He thought for a moment. "Yeah, it was."

"You're terrible at this," Rhett said in mock annoyance.

Link shoved him playfully. "Hey, you're the romantic one, not me. Anyway, for what I'm feeling... I'm happy, Rhett. Really happy.” He stopped, thought for a moment. “Like I could stay here forever. You don't even know how much I missed us being together like this."

His words made Rhett feel guilty for what he'd put his friend through, but he willed the feeling to pass, willed himself to concentrate on what he was experiencing now.

“Can I touch you?” Rhett whispered finally, running a hand up Link’s thigh. “Like, _touch_ you?”

Link hooked a thumb into the waistband of his jeans. “I dunno.” He pulled down ever so slightly, enough to reveal his underwear beneath. “ _Can_ you?”

They wrestled a little, Rhett careful not to put too much pressure on Link’s chest. Link ended up on his back on the couch with Rhett crouching over him.

“ _May_ I?” There was a pleading edge to Rhett’s husky voice. “Please, Link. _Please._ ”

He was asking so nicely. Link grinned up at him, shimmied his hips invitingly. “Gentle,” he said. Rhett rumbled low in his throat.

It had been so long since they had been intimate that Link almost felt embarrassed at being undressed, but Rhett was even more tender than he remembered. The light breeze from the open window cooled the sweat on his skin as more of it was exposed to Rhett’s touch. His t-shirt was delicately lifted over his head and discarded on the floor. His shoes and pants quickly followed. Link arched his back with a sigh, pressing into the couch cushions as Rhett’s fingers glided over him from shoulder to waist.

Abruptly, his hands stopped mid-caress.

“What’s this?” A lingering touch on his collarbone, where Link knew a chain of faded bruises lay.

“Mm...” Link ran his tongue across his lips. “You bit me there.”

“ _I_ did that?” Rhett’s face convulsed. “Gosh, Link. I’m s-”

“Stop apologizing, man. I told you I forgave you.”

“This too?” Another touch, this time on Link’s hip.

“Mmhm. Christy didn’t like that one, lemme tell ya. Might wanna apologize to her instead.” Link chuckled.

“Oh no...” There were tears in Rhett’s voice.

“Whoa!” Link’s smile vanished. “What’s wrong, man?”

It was a moment before Rhett could speak again. “I hurt you so bad, Link. I didn’t even realize... why did I...” His voice broke.

Link was slightly alarmed. “Rhett, hey. Don’t cry...”

The sun had completely set now, plunging the room into darkness except for the pale floodlight outside. Link climbed back into Rhett’s lap, heedless of how silly he looked wearing nothing but his briefs. His arms encircled Rhett’s shoulders as he put his forehead against his best friend’s.

“Please don’t cry.”

Rhett remembered that phrase, remembered whispering it to Link on that night seemingly ages ago when their relationship was still new and painful. Hearing it now set a whirlwind of emotions spinning through his chest.

“I love you,” he whispered fiercely, gritting his teeth to keep from breaking down completely. He pulled Link into a tighter embrace. “I love you and I’m sorry for what I did and I promise I’ll never, ever hurt you like that again.”

Link brushed away a few tears of his own. He pressed his lips just to the side of Rhett’s nose, where he knew the taller man was especially sensitive.

“Let me see you,” he urged softly.

It was his turn to shuck off Rhett’s shirt, shoes, jeans. He was thinner than Link remembered, ribs standing out beneath wonderfully tanned skin. Link took his time giving his friend’s body the attention it deserved.

“Link, you... that...”

He’d forgotten how easily he could make Rhett descend into an incoherent mess. It only took some slow grinding, Link’s tongue flicking across his nipples, and Rhett was writhing and panting beneath him.

There were lube and condoms stashed in both of their desks for times like these. Link retrieved both after stumbling around in the dark for a moment. He could turn the overhead lights back on, he knew, but he liked the sense of intimacy that the dim light from outside brought.

“How’s your back?” he murmured as he returned to the couch.

“S’okay.” Rhett’s voice was faint as Link inched his boxers down.

Link squeezed lube onto his fingers, guided Rhett to move his thighs apart. One leg draped over the top of the sofa, the other trailing on the floor, Link crouching in between.

Slowly, he pressed one finger into Rhett’s hole.

Rhett gasped Link’s name, squirmed against the pressure inside him, begged for more. Link added a second finger, gingerly twisting both as he felt the muscles around him relax. Rhett gripped his free hand tight enough to hurt as he pressed a third finger inside.

When Rhett's grip on him had slowly loosened, Link tore open a condom and rolled it on, shivering at the feel of the cold against his skin. He braced himself with one hand on either side of Rhett as he pushed slowly forward.

For a moment, Link couldn't catch his breath at the intensity of the sensations around his cock. He felt Rhett's hands over his own, thumbs moving in comforting circles, and he couldn't hold back a faint smile.

“Go ahead,” Rhett whispered.

Link angled his hips and thrust forward hard. Rhett sucked in his breath through his teeth but otherwise didn't protest. He liked the pain, Link knew. They reached a swift tempo quickly, each rocking to match the other's motions. They filled the room with their moans, cries, wordless begging for _more_...

Then he took ahold of Rhett’s throbbing cock and began to stroke.

“Aahh...”

They kissed again. Link ducked his head further still and sank his teeth into Rhett’s collarbone.

“ _Link_!”

He felt Rhett tighten around him and heard him cry out louder still as he came. Link grit his teeth and fucked him through the aftershocks, feeling himself draw closer to the edge with every spasm of Rhett's hole.

Beneath him, Rhett whimpered, his eyes creeping open to meet Link's. That look was enough to drag Link over the brink. He collapsed on Rhett's chest as he came, his legs giving out completely.

No sound for the longest moment but their ragged breathing. From outside came the distant sound of a car horn.

“That...” Rhett licked his lips. “That was incredible.”

“Mm.” Link ran a finger over the bite marks on his friend’s collarbone. “Look, now you got bitten, too.” He grinned. “I marked you.”

Rhett snorted. “What am I, your property?”

“Maybe. Just wanted to make sure people know you don’t sleep alone.”

“I think my wedding ring shows that just fine.”

“Psh. Whatever,” Link muttered in mock annoyance.

They fell silent again. Link was teetering on the edge of dozing off. Despite the faint ache in his ribs, he felt warm and comforted with Rhett’s arms around him.

He didn’t know how long they would’ve sprawled on the couch together if they’d been left undisturbed. But Rhett’s phone buzzed and Link remembered errands he had promised to run before going home. There was fumbling in the dark, the click of the light turning back on, squinting as they groped for clothes.

They shared one last long kiss before leaving the office for the night.

~

They talked more after that, brainstorming ways to satisfy Rhett’s need for change without upending their lives in LA. They planned trips together, some for their families, some for just the two of them. Rhett regained some of his old confidence, but he was quieter around Link now, more pensive, where before he’d never hesitated to speak up. Link was more subdued as well. The awkwardness between them would dissipate in time, he knew. They spent many silent afternoons working in the office, each content to be in the other’s presence.

A couple of weeks later, they resumed filming GMM. Jen’s scavenger hunt had ended and the crew-only videos were being met with growing complaints from fans who missed seeing Rhett and Link onscreen, so they’d finally agreed to move forward with the show.

It was almost nerve-wracking to be on set again, Link thought. Bright lights and cameras angled sharply towards them. Crew members sitting in the dark offscreen, waiting and watching. As the cameras began rolling, Link reached for Rhett’s hand beneath the table, feeling a rush of comfort when Rhett squeezed his hand in his own.

“Can we correctly guess these strange animal sounds?” Rhett said.

Link knew there were tears in his eyes, but he was smiling. Somehow he managed to keep his voice steady. “Let’s talk about that.”

**Author's Note:**

> Yay, finally got an account on here! I'll probably post my stuff both here and on Tumblr though.


End file.
